Car Spotting: Amsterdam Edition

It's red, it's tiny, and it's in Amsterdam. What is this thing?
I believe it's a Canta LX, which can be built for wheelchair entry in the back. 

They have cars in Europe that we don't get in the USA, so here's a look at some of them I spotted in the Netherlands. We spent about a week in Amsterdam, and also took a day trip to Gouda (yes, there was cheese!) so this post is a good sample of non-USA models. In addition to the photos here, I also spotted an older Rolls Royce, as well as two Toyota Hilux pickup trucks, but didn't manage to get photos of those vehicles. The large number of smaller cars and electric vehicles reminds me to point out that of course gas is much more expensive in Europe. I think the cheapest I saw was about 1.66 Euros per liter for Diesel, which was cheaper than gas. With about 4 liters to the gallon, Euro to dollars...let's just call that over 6 bucks a gallon. Oh and of course most other countries will tax your vehicle based on its emissions, so again, smaller and more electric makes sense. 

Besides spotting plenty of brands we don't have in the US, some of the cars have different names in different countries. For instance, take the Nissan Rogue, please! Ha ha, I mean, for some reason it has a different name in the rest of the world, see the next photo for the Qashqai!

Nissan Qashqai. Oh, and some bikes!
Built in England since 2007, and under another name in Japan, this is basically a Nissan Rogue in the US. The name Qashqai comes from people that live in part of Iran. 

We often post here with photos of old classic US cars, as well as the fancy schmancy really expensive cars, so to offer something different, here's a bunch of normal everyday cars in the Netherlands. The auto industry is so gigantic and intertwined around the world, there's always something new to see or learn about.  Having said that, I'll point out that we didn't drive or rent a car on this trip, and did a lot of tram, bus, and train riding, as well as walking. Oh, and a boat ride or two also!

Another small car, more bikes, no surprise!

An old Citroen of some kind, and more bikes.

A pair of Citroens, a C1 and a C3. Please don't push them into the canal. Or the bikes!

VW T-Roc, European versions are built in Portugal, and Asian models in China.
According to Wikipedia, there is even a convertible model of this available!

Just to take a break from tiny cars, here's a display from the Sixt rental car folks at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, why not rent a BMW i8?

VW ID Buzz, electric van. I believe we'll be getting these in the US in about a year. And more bikes. 

This is the first Canta I spotted, whew! Not in Kansas anymore! With bikes too!

Toyota Aygo (with a bike)
Here we go: The Aygo is a City Car built on a shared platform with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107, in a joint venture called Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech, in the Czech Republic from 2005-2021. Now you know. 

A rare photo of a Citroen C3 with NO bicycles.

FIAT Punto

Opel Karl parked behind some bikes!
According to the Internet, the Opel Karl is named after Mr. Opel's son, and was built in South Korea. Long story short, Opel used to be a part of General Motors, but is now owned by Stellantis. 

Here we're on a really cool canal boat ride and spotted this old multi-colored Peugeot, PARKED RIGHT NEXT TO THE CANAL! In this spot there are no guard rails, curbs, (or even kerbs if you're British) to keep your parallel parked car out of the water. 

Next up are a couple cars that I used to own, sort of! I did have a FIAT 500, and in the early 1990s both my brother and I had VW Foxes, but this is a newer model of Fox. Also, this is not the same as an old Audi model named the Fox. 

FIAT 500, no longer for sale in the US. I can see a wheel from a bike or a moped behind it!

VW Fox

The Lancia Ypsilon has been around since 1995 and is now the only Lancia model available. The Lancia brand comes from Italy, and currently is only sold there. Now part of Stellantis, we might see more cars from Lancia in the future. 

Peugeot 307 CC, a hard top convertible!

VW Up! Smaller than a Golf, the Up! city car was built in Bratislava Slovakia from about 2011-2021, with versions from other VW brands SEAT and Skoda also. There was an electric version, the E-Up as well. 

Stay tuned for more European cars coming up soon in Part II.